MJ Mc Colgan never caught a touchdown pass at San Ramon Valley High, but the 2002 graduate did inspire a bunch of football players.

“He served as my football team manager for the entire four years he attended SRV,” former Wolves coach Dave Kravitz said of Mc Colgan, who suffers from a strain of cerebral palsy. “He was a great kid, never missed a practice or game.

“His physical disability prevented him from doing traditional team manager duties, but he was always there. … He provided daily support and inspiration to our players and coaches. Phenomenal young man.”

Mc Colgan, 27, is being inducted into the San Ramon Valley Hall of Fame on Oct. 20 at Crow Canyon Country Club. Other inductees include Kurt Hollmer (football), Michael Kopp (wrestling), Mike Caldwell (football), Julie Jenkins (track and field) and Brady Raggio (baseball).

“I love football and wasn’t able to play because of my disability,” Mc Colgan said. “But I just went to every practice and every game for four years. I love it. I am originally from Michigan … My uncle played at Michigan. I have a long history and a love of football.”

He also cares for others away from sports. Mc Colgan works with The Wheelchair Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Blackhawk headed by CEO David Behring that provides free wheelchairs worldwide.

Clearly, Mc Colgan’s condition hasn’t knocked him off course — in life or in golf.

He is a three-time national Special Olympics gold medalist and a nine-time Northern California Special Olympics gold medalist, both in golf. He was inducted into the Tri-Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and into the state of Michigan Hall of Fame in 2006, both for golf.

When he was inducted into the Michigan Hall, Mc Colgan was thrilled because ex-49ers coach Steve Mariucci, a Michigan native, was the master of ceremories.

Mc Colgan says he would walk golf courses as a youth, but as he became older and taller his disability made it difficult to walk long distances. He began using a cart.

Moreover, Mc Colgan and his dad Mike have co-authored five books on golf, including “Walking 18 holes with Tiger,” which detailed a father and son’s special walk with Tiger Woods during the 70th Masters at Augusta National.

MJ Mc Colgan, now retired from competitive golf, participated in the 2003 Special Olympics World Games in Ireland and 2007 World Games in China. A Global Ambassador for Special Olympics, he speaks to businesses and various groups about winning and overcoming adversity. He helped Special Olympics of Northern California raise $1 million last year, he said.

Mc Colgan said he tells those with special needs not to “focus on your disability; focus on your ability. That’s the way my parents raised me. They never raised me that I had a disability, and so I never knew I had one, which is good, you know.”

He’s carried with him Kravitz’s philosophies of having good sportsmanship and a never-give-up attitude. Although he couldn’t play on the San Ramon Valley squad, McColgan had some skills.

“I was a pretty good athlete myself,” he said. “If I could have played football I would have been a good receiver, I’ll tell you that,” he said with a laugh.

Instead, he became a messenger of goodwill and a local legend, in his own right.

For more information about the San Ramon Valley Hall of Fame, contact Dan Chevez at 925-314-1360. Tickets are $40.

With lower home prices, more Californians could afford a home purchase in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the previous quarter, but the California Association of Realtors reports higher interest rates lowered affordability from the previous year for most counties.